New Zealand's foreign minister to visit Türkiye next week

New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters is set to visit Türkiye next week, his office said in a statement on Friday.

Peters' visit, scheduled from April 22-28, includes Anzac Day commemorations, when Australian and New Zealand troops first landed in Gallipoli during a military campaign in World War I, and engagements with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul.

He is expected to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, and will also have engagements with New Zealand companies exporting into the Turkish market, according to the readout.

“New Zealand and Türkiye share a warm relationship, built upon our shared Gallipoli heritage. We cooperate on trade, defence, education and disaster response, and our engagements in Türkiye will be an opportunity to strengthen the relationship between our two countries,” said Peters.

New Zealand "greatly values Turkish insights on regional issues," and the visit will allow to share information and perspectives on the situation in the Middle East, including Gaza, and Russia's war on Ukraine, he added.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid